First known David Bowie recording which was rejected by a record label to be sold at auction

The demo was rejected by a record label six years before he found worldwide success.

Fancy owning a piece of music history? David Bowie’s first known studio recording is going up for auction.

A demo from 1963 featuring a 16 year old Bowie singing I Never Dreamed with his band The Konrads is up for sale after it was rediscovered by the band's drummer David Hadfield in a bread basket in his loft.

The group were turned down by major label Decca and the tape was never released.

The tape is expected to fetch £10,000 (€11,220) when it goes up for auction along with Hadfield's other music memorabilia in September. It is widely believed to be Bowie's first ever recording.

UPDATE (12/09/2018): The demo has now been sold by Omega Auctions to an overseas buyer for £39,360 after a "bidding frenzy" - four times over its original estimate.

Bowie quit The Konrads shortly after their label rejection, with Bowie citing artistic differences. It would take another six years for Bowie to emerge as a successful solo artist with Space Oddity.

The Guardian quotes Hadfield as saying: “We had decided that we would do a couple of guitar instrumentals and one original song. I chose I Never Dreamed as it was the strongest, the other two were a bit weak. I also decided that David was the best person to sing it and give the right interpretation. So this became the very first recording of David Jones singing 55 years ago.

"There is no other recording of the demo featuring David as lead in existence. Decca initially turned us down, but when they eventually gave us an audition later that year, vocalist Roger Ferris was the lead voice and David sang backing harmonies.”

Hadfield’s memorabilia will be sold by Omega Auctions, in Newton-le-Willows on Merseyside, in September.